For the second time after 2021, our Munich start-up LucyBalu held its now-famous Cat Model Contest. After last year's huge success, we had high hopes that plenty of people would again want to enter their beloved house tigers for the title of Cat Model 2022 – and our expectations were exceeded once more!

The voting process

More than 1,000 entries came pouring in. Cats of every shape, colour and breed were put forward as potential cover models. We were simply overwhelmed by the wonderful response. Our team made an initial pre-selection from all these entries, and almost 50 velvet paws made it through to the next round.

And then it was time for our community vote. The entire vote took place on Instagram and was accompanied by media coverage even before it began. Several thousand people took part. Once again, we were – overwhelmed. The community chose their favourites, and these 20 cats were then recommended to our exclusive four-person jury (pictured from left to right: Elfie Langefeld, Flo @inkstaboy, Lucas Berullier, Sina @Sinascolocats.)

Each juror could choose two cats – one for our live shoot on 30 July in Munich, and one for a home shoot.

So, after just two weeks, countless posts and many votes from more than 1,000 candidates, we arrived at our eight finalists.

Animal welfare at the heart of it all

We didn't forget our roots in animal welfare during this campaign either. A monetary amount in goods was set aside for every vote cast. In November 2022, our team visited the Vienna animal shelter and fully equipped two cat rooms with cat furniture, accessories and toys from our collection. We're delighted that this is another way we can improve the lives of cats.

The final

But back to the contest! With 8 finalists, the big day finally arrived on Saturday, 30 July 2022!

While four cats lounged around in PAWse in the comfort of their own homes, four more finalists came to visit us in Munich.
Both the animals' and the humans' wellbeing were well taken care of. We had prepared new products exclusively for our finalists, including our CHECK-IN cat carrier bag and our HOP-ON cat backpack. 😉

At the Meister Eder Studios in Thalkirchen, Louis, Loui, Lilo and Gus strolled through the door one after another, ready to give it their all for the title.

The finalists

Loui (Instagram: loui_not_vuitton) is an indoor cat who nonetheless lives the outdoor lifestyle. To be precise, he's two years young, a Siberian forest cat, and has already visited 5 countries. He's carried by his cat parents in his very own backpack, made especially for cats. As we saw for ourselves, Loui loves this backpack and is always open to new experiences. We were won over by his character and cheeky nature, yet at the same time he relaxed instantly and was simply a truly beautiful subject. The photos show a cheeky, curious and clever cat full of character.

Our runner-up is Gus. Gus and his brother Pablo both travelled from Vienna. Like Loui, the two red tomcats are used to travelling and clearly showed their enthusiasm for it during our shoot – everything was thoroughly investigated and commented on. Both cats came from Spain via the Vienna animal shelter to their current parents, who are simply delighted that the two one-year-old whirlwinds go through life so affectionate and good-humoured. Their arrival at our studio was quite the event too – both of them immediately explored the surrounding gardens. Incidentally, both are named after villains: Gustavo from Breaking Bad and Pablo Escobar were their namesakes 😊

Louis (yes, with an S 😉) travelled all the way from Switzerland and is known by the name "Clicker.cat". His owner works and trains with him using clicker training – and you can definitely tell. Louis is completely open to new things, loves exploring new places, and can even do tricks like the "high five". He's a passionate outdoor cat and pretty fearless. It wasn't always easy for him, though – he was found on the street in Dubai 5 years ago. Since then, he's travelled half the world (Dubai, Toulouse, St. Tropez, Tokyo, Düsseldorf, Mainz and more).

Lilou, a beautiful girl, is a mix of Maine Coon and Norwegian Forest Cat. Despite this heritage in her blood, she's petite and very gentle by nature. During the shoot she needed a little time to warm up – but then we finally got to see her playful, curious side! No wonder – Lilou is only one year old, after all. At home, incidentally, she calls the shots – her "brother" follows her lead.

We managed to take beautiful, unique photos with every single cat. The pictures of the "ones who stayed home" (pictured above: Barcadi, Fynn, Lucky and Molly) were simply wonderful too, and really brought out each cat's individual character.

Here at LucyBalu, we'd love to name every single one of the eight (and all the others too!) a winner – and to us, they really are!

The winner – our LucyBalu Cat Model 2022

The title of Cat Model 2022, who graced the cover of "Geliebte Katze" magazine throughout September, went to LOUI! 🥳

We thoroughly enjoyed our shoot day with all these wonderful cats – and we're already looking forward to next year!